History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 120

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III > Part 120

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Lydia D. (Twining) Hellyer was born in Wrightstown in 1814, and died May 26, 1856. She was the mother of five chil- dren, of whom but two survive-the sub- ject of this sketch, and Hannah, wife of David K. Harvey, of Middletown, Bucks county. Another son, Harrison, enlisted in Company E, Twentieth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, equipped in Philadelphia, during the Civil war, and died from typhoid fever contracted in the service.

Dr. Hellyer was born in Wrightstown, in the same house where his mother was born, his father at that time being engaged in farming his father-in-law's farm. He was reared on the farm and obtained his elementary education in the public schools, later taking a course in the Excelsior Normal Institute at Carversville, Bucks county. He began the study of medicine in 1866 with Dr. Benjamin Collins, of Penns Park, and in the autumn of the same year entered the medical department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, graduating from that institution in 1868 in the class known as "the Centennial Class." After his gradu- ation he located at Forest Grove. Buck- ingham township, Bucks county, where he practiced his profession for two years. In the spring of 1870 he succeeded to the practice of his old preceptor, Dr. Collins, who removed to Virginia, and located in Penns Park, where he has since practiced, building up a large and lucrative practice. He is a member of the Bucks County and Pennsylvania Medical Societies and takes an active interest in their proceedings. In politics Dr. Hellyer is a Republican, but has never sought or held other than local office.

Howard A. Hellyer . In. D.

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

He has been a member of the local school board for nineteen years, and has recently been re-elected for a term of three years, acting for many years as secretary of the board. He is one of the trustees of the Forest Grove Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, having acted as president and secretary of the board of trustees continui- ously since 1868. He is a member of North- ern Star Lodge, No. 54. I. O. O. F., at at Richboro; of Curtis Encampment, No. 77, of Newtown; and of Penns Park Council, No. 973, Jr. O. U. A. M.

Dr. Hellyer married, June 28, 1868, Fanny E. Olmstead, daughter of Silas C. and Elizabeth T.

(Squires ) Olmstead, of Niagara county, New York. Mr. Olmstead was a well known farmer and merchant miller, operating for many years a large mill near the Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls, and shipping his product to the New York markets via the Erie canal. Mrs. Hellyer is a graduate of Ingham Univer- sity, and was for several years a teacher of music, teaching at the Carversville Normal Institute and at the Bellevue Female Semi- nary at Langhorne, Bucks county.

To Dr. and Mrs. Hellyer have been born eight children, of whom five survive : Edwin F., now a druggist at Newtown, Pennsyl- vania ; Grace E., wife of Edwin Naylor, of Warwick, Bucks county, Pennsylvania ; H. Arthur, an instructor in a Philadelphia business college; Harold, who fills a like position in Philadelphia; and George W .. principal of the Richboro High School. All these children are graduates of the West Chester Normal School, and have received every advantage in the way of a first-class English education.

HENRY KUNSER, of Forest Grove, was born in Warwick township, Bucks county, December 14, 1844, being a son of Michael and Susan (Fly) Kunser, and a grandson of Andrew Kunser, a Penn- sylvania German, who resided, for many years on the York road between Bridge Valley and Jamison, where he died in 1863, aged eighty-three years. Michael Kunser was reared in Buckingham, and learned the trade of a weaver, which vocation he followed all his life in con- nection with the care of his little farm of sixteen acres at Bridge Valley. He was born November 19, 1809. and died December 23, 1891. His two children were Andrew S., deceased, and Henry.

Henry Kunser was reared in Warwick township. acquiring his education at the public schools. At the age of sixteen years he left home and lived for two years with his grandfather, Andrew Kunser, and then went to live with John B. Opdycke, of Warwick, which he con- tinued to make his home for over forty years, twenty years of which were em- ployed in working upon the farm. and the last twenty years as superintendent

of the Warwick Creamery. On April I, 1904, he purchased his present home in Forest Grove. where he is living a re- tired life. Mr. Kunser was never mar- ried. In politics he is a Republican, and in religion a Presbyterian.

JOSEPH H. PAIST, of Mechanics- ville, Buckingham township, Bucks county, was born in Buckingham town- ship, December 1, 1862, and is a son of James Monroe and Elizabeth (Connard) Paist, and a grandson of Jonathan and Sidney (Bradshaw) Paist.

Jonathan Paist married in 1805 Sidney Bradshaw, daughter of David and Eliza- beth (Carver) Bradshaw, of Bucking- ham, and lived for two years in Plum- stead township. On April 1, 1808, he purchased the farm in Buckingham where the subject of this sketch was born, and spent the remainder of his life there, dying in 1870. His wife Sidney, who was born in Buckingham 4 mo. 10, 1784, died ten years earlier. They were the parents of four children: Minerva S., who married George W. Scott; David Bradshaw, who was a blacksmith at Me- chanicsville for some years, and later re- moved to Iowa, where he died in 1881; J. Monroe; and Eliza, who died unmar- ried.

James Monroe Paist was born on the farm where he spent his whole active life, February 5, 1819, purchasing of his father. April 8, 1861. This farm was part of 500 acres purchased by William Cooper in 1700, and the first Friends' meeting in Buckingham was held there, prior to the erection of the meeting house at its present site. It was later the residence of Jacob Holcomb, a prom- inent member of Buckingham Meeting. J. Monroe Paist married Elizabeth Con- nard, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Selner) Connard and they were the pa- rents of five children. three of whom sur- vive, viz .: Andrew C .; Mary R., wife of George Mckinstry, of Buckingham; and Joseph H., the subject of this sketch. Both the father and grandfather were members of the Society of Friends. Elizabeth Connard Paist died Septem- ber 5, 1898 aged sixty-seven years. After her death J. Monroe retired from active life, and lived with the subject of this sketch on an adjoining farm recently purchased, where he died.

Joseph H. Paist was born and reared on the home farm, and acquired his edu- cation at the public schools and at the Hughesian School. On January 8, 1887. he married Emma F. Keller, daughter of Isaac and Lucy Ann (Fluck) Keller. and the following spring took charge of the farm upon which he still resides, then the property of his father, but since pur- chased by him. In politics Mr. Paist is a Republican, but has never held or sought

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

other than local offices; has been a mem- ber of the school board of his native township for several years, being at present the president of the board, and has filled other local offices. He is a member of Buckingham Lodge, No. 208, A. O. K. of the M. C. To Mr. and Mrs. Paist have been born five children: Newlin Fell, now a student at Banks' Business College; Stanley Scott; Ida Marion; Harry Monroe; and Evelyn, all of whomn reside at home.

ANDREW C. PAIST, of Buckingham, was born and reared on the farm he now owns and which had been the property of both his father and grandfather, on February 14, 1855. He is the oldest son of J. Monroe and Elizabeth (Connard) Paist, and grandson of Jonathan and Sid- ney (Bradshaw) Paist, of Buckingham. He remained on the farm with his pa- rents until 1889, when he went to Illi- nois, where he spent two and a half years on a farm in McHenry county, re- turning to Buckingham in October, 1892. The next six years he spent on the home farm with his parents, until after the death of his mother in 1898, when he en-, tered the employ of William Watson, of Buckingham, for one year. On Decem- ber 25, 1899. he married Mary Riniker, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Riniker, of Buckingham, both natives of Switzer- land. Having purchased their present home, they removed thereon the follow- ing spring, and have since resided there. devoting their attention to agricultural pursuits. In the spring of 1903 he pur- chased the homestead farm where he was born and reared. He is a member of Kittatinning Lodge, No. 88, I. O. R. M., of Danboro, and in politics is a Re- publican. Mr. and Mrs. Paist have no children.

THOMAS KITCHIN FLOWERS, of Langhorne, was born in that town De- cember II, 1835, and is a son of William and Mary (Kitchin) Flowers. The Flowers family have been residents of Bucks county since 1774. when James Flowers, son of Charles and Catharine Flowers, of Long Island, came to Bristol township and married Rebecca Gosline, daughter of John Gosline, of Bristol. He was a shoemaker by trade, and followed that occupation for many years in Bristol township, just outside of the borough. where he had purchased a home in 1775. His son, John Flowers, born in 1780, lo- cated in Middletown township, where he followed the trade of a butcher in con- nection with farming, until his sudden death from heart disease on January 0, 1836. His wife, Phoebe Hibbs, was born in 1781, and was a daughter of Abraham Hibbs. John and Phoebe were the pa-

rents of seven children: Thomas; Han- nah, who married Samuel Stradling; Mary, who married Levi Boileau; Will- iam; Amos; John; and George.

William Flowers, second son of John and Phoebe, was born and reared in Middletown township, and was an active business man, following the vocation of a butcher, merchant and farmer, suc- cessively, being for a number of years the proprietor of the principal general merchandise store in Langhorne, and also owned and operated a farm of sev- enty-four acres in Middletown. He died December, 1872. His wife was Mary Kitchin, daughter of Thomas and Eliza- beth Kitchin, and a great-granddaughter of William Kitchin, who settled in Sole- bury early in the eighteenth century, where he died in 1727. He was a pro- tege of John Wells, the first proprietor of the ferry at New Hope, and married in 1713 Rebecca Norton, a niece of Mrs. Wells, who bore him five children: Thomas, William, Ruth, Olive and Mary, who have left numerous descendants. Rebecca, the widow, later married Thomas Phillips, and from her are de- scended the Phillips family of Solebury, for several generations proprietors of the mill that bears their name. Thomas Kitchin inherited his father's real estate in Solebury, but sold it soon after his marriage and removed to Philadelphia county. William and Mary P. (Kitchin) Flowers were the parents of five chil- dren: Thomas K., the subject of this sketch; John, and three daughters.

Thomas Kitchin Flowers, eldest son of William and Mary, was born and reared in Middletown township, and ac- quired his education at the Newtown academy and at boarding schools at Pen- nington and Mt. Holly, New Jersey. On finishing his academic education he en- tered his father's store at Attleboro (now Langhorne) as a clerk, and after a few years succeeded his father as its proprietor, and conducted it for many years. Subsequently he sold out the store and entered the employ of Peter Wright & Sons, of Philadelphia, agents for the American Steamship Company, as a clerk, where he remained until the company was merged into the Interna- tional Navigation Company, and with the latter company until it was absorbed by the International Merchant Marine, the great steamship trust which now controls the principal steamship lines sailing from the ports of Philadelphia and New York. Mr. Flowers is a Re- publican in politics, and while at the Langhorne store was appointed post- master of that place by President Lin- coln. and served several years in that position. He still retains his clerical position with the steamship company, remaining in Philadelphia until the last consolidation above referred to. when he was transferred to the offices of the new

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

company in New York city. He is well known in marine circles, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his employers and associates. He married December 30, 1858, Sarah Scott, daughter of Amos V. and Elizabeth (Hellings) Scott, of Bensalem, and granddaughter of Jacob and Esther Scott. This union was blessed with the birth of five children: William, born June 26, 1860, died in in- fancy; Amos Scott, born July 4, 1862, see forward; John Wilmot, born Janu- ary 9, 1864, died young; Albert G., born October 31, 1868, deceased; George Rus- sell, born November 30, 1871. Amos S. and George R. were educated in the Friends' school at Langhorne.

Amos Scott Flowers was married Oc- tober 9, 1884 to Frances Robinson, daughter of William Massey and Frances (Perry) Robinson, who was born in Eng- land and came to Bucks county with her parents when quite young. In 1884 Amos Scott Flowers bought a farm near Woodbourne, upon which he took up his residence, and has since followed the vocation of a farmer. He and his wife have been the parents of two children- William Massey, born September 23, 1885, died March 21, 1898; and Elizabeth Ann, born August 27, 1887.

THOMAS BUTLER CLAXTON, of Lower Buckingham, was born on the farin upon which he still resides, in Buckingham township, June 6, 1852, a son of John Bankson, and Sarah W. (Thompson) Claxton. George Claxton, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of the West Indies, and was for many years captain of the ship "Providence," plying between the West Indies and ports of the United States. The declining years of his life were spent at the home of his son, John Bankson Claxton, on the Buckingham farm. John Bankson Claxton was born in Philadel- phia. His younger days were spent in the employ of the publishing house later known as J. B. Lippincott & Company, in that city, the present members of the firm being fellow employees with him. At the age of fifteen years, on the ad- vice of the family physician that he seek an outdoor life, he came to Buck- ingham and found employment on the farm where the remainder of his life was spent, then owned and conducted by Thomas M. Thompson, whose daughter he subsequently married. At the death of his father-in-law he acquired the farm, and spent the remaining years of his life in agricultural pursuits. He was an ac- tive and influential man in the commun- ity, and a member of the local school board for a number of years. In relig- ion he was a staunch Presbyterian, a member of the Thompson Memorial Church of Lower Solebury, which was rebuilt and named in memory of his

father-in-law, Thomas M. Thompson, who was for thirty-four years an elder of the church and one of its most active supporters and workers. Mr. Claxton died in 1875, at the age of fifty-two years. The Buckingham farm had been the property of the maternal ancestors of the subject of this sketch for nearly a century prior to its acquisition by his father, having been purchased by his great-grandfather, John Wilson, Esq., whose home it was for a half century. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, his father, John Wilson, a native of the north of Ireland, having settled in Lower Buckingham, in 1737, on the farm now comprising the farms owned by Harry F. Molloy and Warner C. Thompson .* John Wilson, Jr., was a justice of the peace in Buckingham for twenty-five years, and one of the most prominent justices of his day, doing an immense amount of official business, as his docket, now in possession of the writer of this sketch, will testify. His home seems to have been a favorite "Gretna Green," as he married over four hundred couples during his term of office, many of them coming a considerable distance to have the nuptial knot tied. He died in 1811. Of his five daughters, three married Thompsons, one of them, Elizabeth, be- ing the grandmother of the subject of this sketch.

The Union school house, located at the north corner of Mr. Claxton's farm, was originally built on land dedicated for that purpose by Thomas M. Thompson, and the title still vests in the successors to the trustees then appointed, though it has long been under the control of the Buckingham school board.

John Bankson and Sarah (Thompson) Claxton, were the parents of four chil- dren, two of whom survive: Thomas B .; and William Neeley Claxton, of Hale county, Texas.

Thomas B. Claxton was born and reared on the home farm, acquiring his education at the public school, at the Ex- celsior Normal Institute at Carvers- ville, and Doylestown English and Class- ical Seminary. On the death of his father he assumed control of the farm, and after his mother's death acquired the title thereto. He was married Oc- tober 12, 1876, to Mary Lester Fell, daughter of David and Margaret (Atkin- son) Fell, who died in 1899. They were the parents of two children: Lewis Fell, and Frances Elizabeth, wife of Justus W. Kirk, who now conducts the home farm. Mr. Claxton married (second) Martha C. Elv. daughter of Isaac and Mary (Magill) Ely of Solebury.

In politics Mr. Claxton is a Republi- can but has never held other than local

*Warner C. Thompson, who is a great-great-grand- son of John Wilson, Sr., has the original deed from John and Richard Penn to John Wilson, dated Decem- ber 15, 1737.

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

offices, having filled the position of towirship auditor for twelve years, and occupied other local positions. He is a life member of the board of trustees and directors of the Hughesian Free School, and an assistant secretary and surveyor of the Farmers and Mechanics' Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Bucks county, to the duties of which latter position much of his time is de- voted. He is a member of Mountain Lodge, No. 31, Shield of Honor.

JOSEPH H. SIDDALL, JR., of Buck- ingham, was born in Philadelphia, June 28, 1857, and is a son of John Edward and Anna H. (Hampton) Siddall.

Joseph H. Siddall, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of England, and came to Philadelphia in 1810. He was a surveyor and con- veyancer, and served as city surveyor for over fifty years. He married in 1819, Mary Charles, of Philadelphia, who was also a native of England, having come to America in 1816. They had twelve children, of whom only two survive: Frank Siddall, the celebrated soap man- ufacturer of Philadelphia; and Mary F., wife of John Thurman, of Mechanics Valley, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.

John Edward Siddall, son of Joseph H. and Mary (Charles) Siddall, was born in Philadelphia, September 25, 1827. He learned his father's profession and as- sisted him in the conduct of a large bus- iness, and succeeded to it at his father's death. He married Anna H. Hamp- ton, of Bucks county, and had four chil- dren, of whom but two survive: Joseph H. Siddall, the subject of this sketch, and Ellen, wife of J. Livezey Johnson, formerly of Bucks county, residing in Philadelphia.

The subject of this sketch was reared in Philadelphia and received his educa- tion at the Friends' schools of Philadel- phia, and on attaining manhood entered his father's office and took up the busi- ness of a surveyor and conveyancer, fol- 'lowed by his father and grandfather for nearly a century. The business has been successful. and Mr. Siddall has been trustee and executor of a great number of estates, in addition to the routine bis- iness of the profession. He has offices at 822-823, Girard Building, and a city residence in Germantown. In 1902 he and his family removed to Bucks county for the summer, and, being pleased with the country, have since made it their per- manent residence. He purchased the old homestead of his maternal grandfather Joseph Hampton, in Buckingham. Jo- seph Hampton, the grandfather of Mr. Siddall, died there in September, 1875, at an advanced age. Ile was a member of Wrightstown Meeting, and a direct de- scendant of Joseph Hampton, who ac- companied William Penn to America.

WILLIAM BONHAM CLAYTON, of Buckingham, is a representative of one of the oldest families in Bucks county, being a lineal descendant of James Clayton, of Bolton, Lancashire, England, who with his wife and six children took passage with many other residents of Bolton, who later became prominent residents of Bucks county, in the ship "Submission," sailing from Liv- erpool 7 mo. 5, 1682, and arriving at Choptank, Maryland 9 mo. 2, 1682, "be- ing brought thither through the dishon- esty of the Master James Settle. The party, which included Phineas Pem- berton, the first clerk of the courts of Bucks county, his wife, father and father-in-law, James Harrison, made their way overland to Bucks county, stopping for a time at Appoquinimink, Delaware, where another son, Joseph, was born to James and Jane Clayton in 1683. The children who accompanied. them from Lancashire were James, Sarah, John, Mary, Joshua, and Lydia. James Clayton settled in Northampton township, where some of his descend- ants still reside, though many others are widely scattered over the United States.

Amos K. Clayton, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Mont- gomery county, January 20, 1816. His parents dying when he was quite young, he was reared by his uncle, Clayton Knight. He learned the carpenter trade, which he followed several years, but later engaged in farming. He was of a somewhat roving disposition, living for a time in Newtown, Wrightstown and Solebury townships. About the close of the war he removed to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he purchased a farm of 160 acres on which he resided about six years. He then sold his farm to his son Jacob, who still resides there, and re- turned to Bucks county. He died in Ewing. New Jersey, in 1881, aged sixty- five years. Amos K. Clayton was twice married, his first wife being Deborah Cadwallader, by whom he had seven chil- dren, three of whom survive: Jacob C., of Missouri; Joseph C .; and P. Ella, a single woman residing at Trenton, New Jersey. He married (second) Elizabeth Briggs, by whom he had five children, three of whom survive; William B., the subject of this sketch; Elwood L., a car- penter of Trenton, New Jersey ;

I. Harper, a carpenter of the same place. The family were members of the So- ciety of Friends. Amos K. Clayton died February 23, 1881, aged sixty-five years, one month and three days.

William Bonham Clayton, the subject of this sketch, was the oldest son of Amos K. and Elizabeth Briggs Clayton, and was born in Wrightstown, June 30, 1863. He acquired his education at the public schools and at Trenton Business College. At the death of his father he

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

entered the store of George W. Metlar, at Doylestown, as clerk, and a year later accepted a position in the store of Henry Beidler at Lansdale. An indoor life proving detrimental to his health, he was advised by his physician to seek an out- door occupation, and, returning to Bucks county, he worked on the farm of his uncle, Simon Brooks, at Rushland, for one year. On December 25, 1886, he married Carrie K. Atkinson, daughter of Abraham and Hannah (Kepler) Atkin- son, of Buckingham, and the following spring located on his father-in-law's lot near the Roller flour mill then operated by E. B. Cox, and drove the mill team for five years, since which time he has followed farming. In 1893 he purchased the J. Comly Kirk farm in lower Buck- ingham, and still resides there, his wife's father, Abraham Atkinson, residing with him, Mrs. Atkinson being deceased. Mr. Clayton was reared in the Friends' faith, and attends their meeting. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Clay- ton are the parents of four children: Edward, born May 7, 1888; Frank W., born March 12, 1891; Harry P., born July 25, 1897; and Roland N., born November 20, 1899.

HUGH BOYLE WEBSTER, a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and who dur- ing a long and active life has borne a most useful part in the community among whom his years have been passed, is an honored representative of a family which has been identified with the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania from the earliest days. His immigrant ancestor was John Gilbert Webster, who came from England in 1682 to escape persecution visited upon him and his co-religionists, and to make their homes in a land where they might worship God after the dictates of their own conscience. (See Gilbert Family ).

Hugh Boyle Webster was born in Ben- salem township, December 29, 1838, son of Jesse Gilbert (5) and Sarah (Williams) Webster; a grandson of David and Eliza- beth (Gilbert) Webster in the paternal line : and of Joshua (4) and Mary (Ran-

dall) Gilbert in the maternal line; a great-grandson of Benjamin (3) and Sarah (Mason) Gilbert; a great-great- grandson of Joseph (2) and Rachel (Livezey) Gilbert; and a great-great-great- grandson of John Gilbert (1) the immi- grant.

Jesse Gilbert Webster was born and reared in Montgomery county, and was the youngest in a family of seven children. six of whom came to maturity, and all of whom he outlived. He settled in Bucks county in 1825, engaged in farming, and during his later years was an auctioneer. He was a man of liberal education, ex- cellent character and pronounced public spirit. For fifteen years he was a justice of the peace, a school director for a like

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History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 120

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 Publication date: 1905 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040